TV & VIDEO - April 26, 1988

The Hong Kong government doesn’t mess around when it comes to violent TV series. Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Inc. was fined the equivalent of $2,500 recently for airing “The Final Verdict,” a police drama that depicted “the brutal killing of a family of six,” according to the government’s Broadcasting Authority, which levied the unprecedented fine for “excessive violence.” Some 97 complaints had been received about the show, a statement from the agency said, many from viewers claiming that the Cantonese-language series portrayed the police force in a bad light. The series was in part about police corruption.